Independence Realty Trust expands Texas portfolio $56M

The REIT is investing in multifamily in Austin and Dallas

Independence Realty Trust's Scott Schaeffer with a rendering of the Mustang (left) and Lakeline Station (IRT, The Mustang, Google Maps)
Independence Realty Trust's Scott Schaeffer with a rendering of the Mustang (left) and Lakeline Station (IRT, The Mustang, Google Maps)

Independence Realty Trust continues to bet big on Texas by committing $56 million across two joint venture multifamily investments, including its first deal in Austin.

The publicly traded REIT is investing $30 million into a 378-unit community being constructed at Lakeline Station in North Austin. The multifamily complex is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024, according to an Independence Realty investor presentation.

In the Dallas market, the firm will add $26 million into a 275-unit multifamily community, the Mustang, to be completed in the third quarter of 2024. That project is at 601 East Las Colinas Boulevard in Irving.

Exact construction details and financial figures for the two projects have not been announced. The firm has a notable presence in Dallas already and has targeted the city as a continued market for growth potential. The Lakeline Station apartments will be its first investment in the Austin market. The investor presentation noted that Austin is a “high growth market with favorable demographics.”

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The firm’s property and rental revenue is up nearly 11 percent through the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, according to the presentation.

Austin’s population has skyrocketed since the pandemic, and apartments have been popping up across the city’s northern and southern metro rail stations. The Lakeline Station, at Lakeline Boulevard and Lyndhurst Street, is 19 miles from downtown, about 40 minutes by commuter train.

The North Austin metro that includes Round Rock and Georgetown recorded the quickest population growth in the state in 2021, with 3 percent more residents across Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties, compared to the year prior. The Austin metro has been the fastest-growing large metro in the U.S. for a full decade, according to population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

 

Las Colinas, where Independence Realty is building the Mustang apartments, is a master planned community in Irving, near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. It’s a mix of high-rise office buildings and residential communities, set around golf courses and lakes. The development includes more than 70 restaurants, four championship golf courses, a polo club and equestrian center. An Omni Hotel and a Four Seasons Resort are also located within the community.

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